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!1! 



rhe Art of 
Spending 




PRICES: 

The Art of Spending 10 cents 

Weekly Allowance Book . 10 cents 

Inter -leaves of Self-Accounting 
Check Book, Directions andYearly 
Summary; for 300 Check Book 
50 cents 

12 Home Service Letters, telling 
"How to Stretch the Dollar," 
to be mailed monthly $1.00 



PUBLISHED FOR BANKS BY|S! 

American School of Home Economics 

506 West 69th Street - - - CHICAGO 



©CI. A 611.533 



APR -R mPI 



i 



The Art of Spending 

How to Live Better and Save More 

by 

Maurice Le Bosquet 

Director, American School of Home Economics 

YOU would like to get more out of your 
income — we all would; that is a uni- 
versal desire. But how? 

Money is made to spend, of course — that 
is what it is for, but what you or I or anyone 
gets for our money in satisfaction, health, 
happiness and progress depends entirely on 
the way we spend our income. And it is not 
the amount of income, but the kind of life it 
buys that counts. What you want to get out 
of living, naturally, should govern your spend- 
ing; but neither you, nor I, nor anyone can 
get what we want simply by wishing; we must 
have some definite purpose-r-'wt must have a 
plan to get what- we want out of our income 
and out of life. 

The plan must come first if we wish to 
build a successful house or a bridge, if we 
wish to make a dress or run a business, if we 
wish to do our work easily or get the most 
joy out of living. And the better the plan 
and the closer it is followed the more suc- 
cessful will be the result. 

This is essential to success in "The Art of 
Spending" — to mal^e a plan and follow it. 

Forethoughtful spending is not the common 
and usual practice now-a-days. We are more 
apt to be "free spenders" and take a certain 
pride in extravagance; more apt to spend first 
and trust to good fortune to make income 
meet expenses. This "spend first" system has 
always been the practice of our Government 
at Washington. 



Copyrighted, 1921 



THE ART OF SPENDING 



A National Budget 

OUR Uncle Sam is now loaded down with 
expenses of over four billion dollars a 
year. As consumers, we have to pay this 
amount yearly in taxes, directly and indi- 
rectly — "sure as death and taxes." To help 
reduce this burden of taxation, our lawmakers 
have about come to" the conclusion that it 
might be well to have a plan of spending or 
"budget" and make yearly expenditures corre- 
spond to income. It is estimated that National 
expenditures, except for fixed charges, can be 
reduced one-fourth through a carefully worked 
out budget system, for the reason that planning 
the expenditures as a whole will help to elimi- 
nate waste, unnecessary expense and duplica- 
tion of effort. 

Why A Household Budget? 

ALL up-to-date business is run on the budget 
system, with full records and accounts to 
find costs and keep a check on budget appro- 
priations. Now 'hom.emaking is the biggest 
business in this or any country. Somewhere 
between 70% and 80% of our 70 billion dollars 
yearly income is spent directly by our indi- 
vidual homemakers. Very little of this 50 odd 
billion dollars is spent with any well defined 
plan and very, t)ery little of it is accounted for. 
Not one family in a thousand knows what was 
spent, say, for food in 1913 — nor in 1920. 
This spending without plans and without 
records wastes millions, yes, billions of dollars 
yearly — and we still have a war to pay for! 

Isn't it reasonable to suppose that sim.ply 
keeping a record of expenditures for food, 
clothing, operating, etc., and comparing figures 
from month to month will help to check over 
expenses? And particularly if there is a 
definite aim or purpose in the spending? 

Experience has shown that spending the 
family income on the budget system and keep- 
ing a check on expenditures will save one-tenth 
or more of the income of almost any family. 



HOW TO LIVE BETTER AND SAVE MORE 3 

That is, under the budget system, one-tenth 
the total income can be laid aside as savings 
and the family live on the balance of the income 
with equal or greater satisfaction than on the 
full income without planned spending! 

If this be so — and it is — isn't this scheme 
worth trying — not for some other family but 
for YOUR FAMILY? 

I'm From Missouri — Show Me! 

YES,'* you say, "I have heard of this 
budget scheme, have seen quite a number 
of budgets. You are supposed to spend so 
much for food, so much for clothing, so much 
for rent and all, but none of the plans would 
do for my family." 

True, very true, no ready made budget will 
fit. Every family must be a law unto its own 
budget and every family must draw up its own 
plan of spending, for no two families have 
identical tastes, conditions, or the same income 
and requirements. 

For What Are You Running 
The Home? 

'T^HE first step in planning your budget, as 
-■- suggested, is to define the family aim or 
purpose. What is it your family expects its 
income to yield? There may be one or several 
aims. After allowing for necessities, perhaps 
the most usual family aim or ambition is to 
provide the children with a good education 
and a favorable start in life. Next comes 
provision against reverses in fortune, sickness 
and old age. Perhaps owning a home of your 
own may be a guiding factor or accumulating 
capital for a good business opportunity or 
building up an investment fund to provide 
more income from interest or dividends. 

Then there may be many minor aims, such 
as a vacation trip, a summer camp, new house 
furnishings, labor-saving equipment, an auto- 
mobile. What is it the family desires most} 



THE ART OF SPENDING 



Too often there is no well defined plan in 
the spending. The family just lives along 
from month to month and from year to year, 
paying bills and keeping out of debt maybe, 
but making no progress financially and getting 
nowhere. // is impossible to arrive unless you 
linow where you want to go. So a definite aim 
and purpose must be the first step towards 
success in "The Art of Spending" — to live 
better and save more. 

Where Your Money Goes 

'T^HE next step in planning a budget is to 
•*• figure out as nearly as possible what has been 
spent in the various avenues of expenditure for 
the month and year. As few families have 
any definite records of where the income goes, 
it will probably be necessary to keep records or 
accounts for a month or two of what you are 
spending, to decide what you must spend, what 
you wish to spend and where you can most 
easily cut expenses to provide more savings 
for future needs or desires. 

What's The Use of Accounts? 

NEARLY all families, at one time or 
another, have made spasmodic attempts 
to keep household accounts but housekeepers 
do not like to keep them, any more than men 
like to keep personal accounts, for accounts 
require persistency, they wont balance, and 
are more or less trouble. Very probably you 
feel that you are just as careful of the spending 
as possible anyhow, the money goes, accounts 
are tiresome, so what's the use? 

All this is common experience and, as a 
matter of fact, it is of comparatively little use 
to keep accounts to show what you have spent. 
Accounts are valuable chiefly to show that you 
are spending the way you want to spend, that 
is according to plan or budget. 

But records are absolutely essential to the 
budget plan of spending — it is all too easy to 



HOW TO LIVE BETTER AND SAVE MORE 5 

exceed the budget appropriation in all divi- 
sions; constant check must be kept on the 
spending or an ideal budget is of little use. 
Household accounts are the stumbling block 
in the way of the budget scheme; but there is 
a way around this difficulty. 

Practical Budget Accounting 

ALL families that use a checking account 
for paying bills have on the check stubs 
(if properly kept and not lost) a more or less 
complete record. Now if the full family in- 
come be put into the checking account and all 
expenditures be made by check, even to obtain 
cash, you would then have on the check stubs 
or interleaves a record of where all the money 
went. Is this not so? It is. Then if the 
interleaves have columns arranged to keep the 
divisions of expenditure together you would 
have a full classified record of expenses! Well, 
all this is provided in the Self-Accounting 
Check Book, see Figure 4 — of which more 
later. 

The Weekly Allowance Book 

nnO provide for a record of cash expendi- 
-■- tures and for families or individuals not 
using a checking account, a miniature account 
book has been designed which is quite simple 
and small enough to be carried in the pocket- 
book so that records can be made at the time 
of spending . This simplifies matters. See 
Figure 5. 

After keeping the records for a month or 
two, you will know what you are spending, 
have some idea of what you must spend in the 
various divisions and can begin to get ready 
to decide what you loant to spend and how 
you shall apportion your income to yield the 
greatest satisfaction and savings for your par- 
ticular family. Then you can draw a tenta- 
tive budget, try it for a few months, revise, 
try it again and finally in the course of a year 



THE ART OF SPENDING 



or so begin to achieve success in "The Art of 
Spending" — to live better and save more. 

Family Team- Work 

nPHE third requirement for living on a 
^ budget is to insure full and complete 
co-operation of all members of the family. 
The whole family must plan together and the 
full family income for the year should be con- 
sidered. Nothing draws man, wife, and chil- 
dren together so much as having a common 
purpose in the family spending and a united 
"pulling" toward a definite aim. 

Planning the spending of the entire income 
for the year instead of spending as you go 
for this, that, and the other thing as the im- 
pulse or need arises, just naturally leads to 
more balanced spending and tends to reduce 
thoughtless, useless, wasteful spending. It is 
exceedingly easy to fritter away in nickels, 
dimes, and quarters (to say nothing of the five- 
and ten-dollar bills) a surprising amount of 
money — a sum sufficient to realize many of the 
family aims. 

The Housekeeper's Allowance Plan 

IN MANY families it is the custom for the 
husband to turn over a definite sum weekly 
or monthly as a "housekeeping allowance," 
out of which the wife or housekeeper is sup- 
posed to pay for food, her own clothing and 
personal expenses and sometimes for the 
clothing of the children. The man pays the 
rent, insurance, life insurance, taxes and all 
unexpected expenses such as doctors' bills, 
for repairs, new equipment and so on. He 
"holds the bag." 

Such a system is much better than no 
system at all but has certain disadvantages, 
foremost perhaps in that it does not allow for 
consideration of the family expenses as a 
whole. It prevents the woman from seeing 
and understanding more than her part of the 



HOW TO LIVE BETTER AND SAVE MORE 7 

expenditures and from having a broad view 
of all the family finances. The household 
allowance may be disproportionately large, 
tending to make for extravagance and one- 
sided expenditures, or it may be too small, 
making it necessary for the housekeeper to 
skimp in her spending unduly and giving a 
feeling of unfairness. But the chief objection 
to the housekeeping allowance plan is that it 
stands in the way of a thorough-going budget 
system which considers in full the family plan 
of spending and saving. 

"Housekeeping is a business; husband and 
wife are equal partners. The entire income 
from whatever source should be mutually 
shared and directed by both partners. . . . The 
wife should share the responsibility for the 
financial success or failure of the family."* 

Objectors to The Budget Plan 

T^HERE are two types of people that stand 
-■- in the way of the family budget plan — the 
"bountiful provider" husband and the "cling- 
ing-vine" wife. Both are a bit out of date in 
this day and age. 

To the Bountiful Provider: You probably 
have a feeling that as you produce the family 
income that you should decide on the spend- 
ing of it. No doubt you have occasionally 
made a few remarks on the lack of business 
management in the home and on extravagance 
in general. But who would you say is usually 
to blame for extravagant wives and daughters 
and spendthrift sons? And is there any way 
to learn the value of money except through 
experience in using it? Well, here is a chance 
to put the family finances on a business basis 
and give practical training to all in the" family 
in "The Art of Spending. 

You will remain, naturally, chairman of the 
board of directors of family finance, and 
believe me, "laying all the cards on the table 

*Mrs. Christine Frederick in Household Engineering. 



THE ART OF SPENDING 



face up" and letting the family budget put the 
limit on the family spending is much more 
effective than any amount of preaching on 
saving and economy! Let the budget show 
that the money spent for "fancy eats" cannot 
also be spent for a new hat. If daughter 
"simply mast have a new dancing frock," the 
budget may show her that Dad will have to go 
without a new business suit, which sjie knows 
he needs — badly. The budget scheme may 
take quite a burden off your shoulders. 

To The Clinging Vine: It's very com- 
forting to have every want provided for and 
have no financial cares; then again it's not so 
agreeable to have to ask for money and bill- 
checking time is not so pleasant. Of course, 
you cannot expect to be a financial partner 
unless you are willing to take your share of 
financial responsibility. Partners are equally 
liable in business, you know. That means 
being sure that you have the money to spend 
before buying — getting away from the "charge 
it to husband" habit. The wife should have 
the spending end of the marriage partnership — 
no man can work to full efficiency or produce as 
much income as he might who has to take on. 
the details of the family spending and carry all 
the load. 

Some years ago, when the dollar was worth 
100 cents, in a budget exhibit was shown all 
that could be done on a thousand dollar in- 
come; an observant man was heard to remark, 
"Yes, but that would take a five-thousand 
dollar wife." Well, why not be that kind? 
As Mrs. Ellen H. Richards has put it— be "a 
productive citizen of the state, not a social 
debtor." 



HOW TO LIVE BETTER AND SAVE MORE 



DIVIDING THE INCOME 

A QUESTION often comes in like this, "We 
-^"^ have an income of $300 per month, how 
much should we pay for rent, food, clothing, 
etc.?" As I have tried to show, there is no an- 
swer to such a question. It all depends on the 
family and its aim; but family aims and wants 



<' 600O 




Fig. 1. Division of Income, $2,000 to $6,000. Expenditures for Rent. 
Clothing, and Operating remain nearly constant — Food expenditures are greate 
the smaller the income. From Household Management-TcrTiW. 



are more alike than they are different and a 
great deal of study has been given to family 
budgets, usually based on the "statistical fam- 
ily" of man, wife and three children under four- 
teen. The chart shown in Figure I , was designed 
by Mrs. Ellen H. Richards and illustrates the 
general laws governing division of expendi- 
tures. As you will see the proportion spent 
for rent and ^clothing, remains constant and 
for operating, nearly so — about one-sixth the 
income each. But the lower the income the 
greater is the percentage that must be spent 
for food and the less that can be spent for 
advancement, investment and luxuries. With 



10 THE ART OF SPENDING 

minimum income nearly one-half the expendi- 
tures must go for food. Rent here means 
rent of a house; the rent of an apartment in- 
cludes much of the operating expenses. 

Another diagram designed by Miss S. 
Agnes Donham, who has had much experi- 
ence in budget making while with the Savings 
Division of the First Federal Reserve Dis- 
trict, Boston, is illustrated in Figure 2. In 
this scheme, savings is taken from the income 
first and the balance divided into five equal 
portions — food, clothing, shelter, operating, 
and "higher life" or advancement. Then, 
with a moderate income, the segment for 
food must be increased and the amount spent 
for advancement or shelter or clothing or 
operating must be decreased. This scheme 
visualizes the division of income and is more 
easily grasped than the usual percentage 
figures. It shows very clearly that extra 
money spent in one division must be taken 
from some other division. 

Classification of Expenses 

n^HE Cost of Living by Mrs. Ellen H. Rich- 
-^ ards, written about twenty years ago, is 
a pioneer work on the family budget. Her 
classification of expenditures in the division of 
income are Food, Clothing, Shelter, Operating 
Expense, and "Higher Life." In the Higher 
Life division is included Savings and Invest- 
ment, Education, Recreation, Health — all ex- 
penditures "that contribute to mental, moral, 
and physical well-being." Mrs. Christine 
Frederick in Household Engineering has divided 
"Higher Life" into Advancement, Savings, and 
Luxuries. This last is the classification used 
in the Household Accounting Check Book, 
with an additional division. Personal Allow- 
ances, which seems necessary in any practical 
workable family budget system. 



HOW TO LIVE BETTER AND SAVE MORE 1 1 

What Are Luxuries? 

THERE is no sharp dividing line between 
advancement and luxuries, but in general, 
advancement corresponds to Mrs. Richards* 
definition — "that which contributes to mental, 
moral, and physical well-being,'* while luxuries 
are nonessentials — expenditures that the family 
or individual can get along without and retain 




Fig. 2. The circle represents a division of an income of $2,500 a year. $500 
is set aside for savings and the $2,000 divided into five equal parts of $400 each. 
As more must be spent for food, $200 is taken from higher life and $40 from shelter. 

From Budget-Making for Ike Home, issued by First Federal Reserve District 
Boston. 



efficiency, health, and happiness. Of course, a 
considerable proportion of the family income 
can be and often is spent for luxuries in food, 
clothing, shelter, and operating. Here is 
where "The Art of Spending" calls for cuts to 
provide for more savings and advancement. 

Expenditures for luxuries are, of course, 
entirely legitimate; indeed many of the neces- 
sities of today were luxuries only a few years 
ago, like the telephone, running water, bath 
tubs and modern plumbing, as well as central 
heating, lighting and labor-saving equipment. 
In general, the progress of a people may be 
measured by the luxuries that become neces- 
sities. Someone once said in jest, "Give us 



12 THE ART OF SPENDING 

the luxuries of life and we will dispense with 
the necessities." 

But it is very easy to over-spend for luxuries 
and expenditures in this division must be kept 
within bounds. The purpose of a budget is 
not to reform the manner of living of the 
family, except in so far as you are "shocked 
into reform'* by your monthly records; the 
real purpose of the budget is to draw attention 
to relative values and make the spending 
conscious and deliberate rather than casual 
and governed by impulse. 

The Household Accounting 
Check Book 

FIGURE 4 shows a portion of the interleaf 
of the recording side of the Household 
Accounting Check Book. Each interleaf pro- 
vides for recording fifteen checks and is followed 
by five sheets of checks, three to the page. 
This makes a convenient sized book about 
7 inches wide by 8^2 inches long and it con- 
tains 300 checks, sufficient to last the average 
family about a year. The first pages give 
directions for use and at the end is a table for 
the Yearly Summary by months and another 
table designed to help in drawing up the 
family budget. 

On the reverse side of the interleaves from 
the check record, provision is made for a classi- 
fied record of. receipts as illustrated in the 
upper part of Figure 3. At the bottom of 
this page is a table for the Monthly Summary, 
with provision for sub-divisions under the 
main divisions and for a comparison of what 
is spent with the monthly budget, as is shown 
in the cut. The following sub-divisions are 
suggested in the "key": 

Key to Subdivisions 

SAVINGS 

1. Savings Account, etc. 

2. Life Insurance. 

3. Payment on Bonds, House, etc. 

4. New Buildings or Additions 







RECEIPTS Month 


OF QJutlxA. 




1920 














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Fig. 3. Receipt side of a portion of an interleaf of the Household Accounting 
Check Book showing receipt record and Monthly Summary of ELxpenditures with 
sub-divisions filled out and compared with budget appropriations. 



FOOD 
Dry Groceries, Sugar, etc. 
Meat, Fish, Fowl, Eggs, Cheese 
Fruit and Vegetables, Fresh and Canned 
Milk, Cream, Butter, Ice 
Outside Meals 



Man's Clothing 
Wife's Clothing 
Child A Clothing 
Child B Clothing 
Child C Clothing 

Rented 
Rent 

Business Carfare 
Fuel 



CLOTHING 



SHELTER 



Yard 



Owned 

1 . Interest, Insurance, Taxes 

2. Business Carfare 

3. Fuel for Heating 

4. Repairs and Decorating 

5. Yard Expenses 



OPERATING 
Fuel, Light, Water, Telephone 
Wages: Service, Laundry Elxpense 
Equipment Repairs, Replacements, Up-keep 
Income and Personal Tax, War Taxes, Insurance 
Miscellaneous 

ADVANCEMENT 
Educational: Tuition, Books, Magazines, Papers, Stationery 
Health: Physician, Dentist, Medicine 
Church, Red Cross, etc. 
Music, Theatre (Movies?) 



LUXURIES 
Tobacco, Candy, etc. Personal Service 
Entertainemnt, Travel, (Club Dues?) 
Gifts, Tips, Flowers, Jewelry, etc. 
Auto Expense, Taxi 



PERSONAL 
Man's Personal Allowance 
Wife's Personal Allowance 
Child A Personal Allowance 
Child B Personal Allowance 
Child C Personal Allowance 



13 



MnNTH OF OA-^ W<yo-, 1QX0 PvPFNnFn FOR 




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AM-T OF 
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BANKS 
BALANCE 


SAVINGS 


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Fig. 4. Check Record of a portion of an interleaf of the Household Accounting 
Check. Footing the columns at the end of the month gives total spent and 
classified division of expenditures. 



As the sub-divisions in the Monthly Sum- 
mary are numbered, it is obvious that those 
suggested may be modified to suit the require- 
ments of each family or individual. The main 
divisions are the important part of the budget — 
keep only the sub-divisions that may seem of 
value to your particular family. 

In recording the checks, something must be 
put in to indicate the sub-division. For ex- 
ample, the first check drawn as shown in the 
illustration was for dressmaking and the (2) 
indicates that it was for Wife's Clothes. Note 
also the distribution of the last check recorded 
—drawn for cash— $10.00, of which $3.62 went 
for groceries at the "Cash and carry," $3.50 
to the laundress, entered under Operating, 
$1.40 for Dress (4)-Child B Clothes. The 
balance, $1.48 was put into the Personal 
column as a part of Wife's Personal Allowance. 

For emergencies, blank checks may be de- 
tached from the back of the check book and 
carried in the pocket-book. When such a 
check is used, keep memoranda of the amount, 
to whom payable, and for what; enter this in 
the space of the check next to be drawn, then 
detach the check and carry in the pocket-book 
14 



HOW TO LIVE BETTER AND SAVE MORE 15 



CHIC>^GO ILL 



3,0^ riRST N 



/WTOOROEROF 



^yU^^f-t-L^ -<UyK ^ 




ChM CA-Ga IL 



Figures 3 and 4 are arranged as the pages appear in the Accounting Check 
Books. The checks follow in the above positions, three checks to the page. 



as a new blank check. This procedure is much 
safer than carrying a wad of bills in the pocket- 
book and enables husband and wife to use one 
check-book under a joint account, which is the 
most convenient system. 

As the directions explain, when the last 
check in the month is drawn, the total amount 
of the checks drawn in the month and the total 
in each division is found by adding up the 
columns. The total expenditures for the 
month should be the same as the totals of all 
the divisions added together. This will be 
true at all times but when footing the columns 
at the bottom of each interleaf to find totals 
to "Carry forward" onto the next page, this 
should be checked to make sure that no mis- 
takes in the records have been made. 

For the Sub-divisions, it will be necessary 
to pick out the items at the end of the month, 
for the Monthly Summary table. All this re- 
quires some accuracy in recording the checks 
and the ability to add correctly. A grammar 
school child could do this but you may make 
mistakes at first — few people, unless kept in 
practice by the daily routine, can keep simple 
records or add accurately; but when the bank 
returns your cancelled checks at the end of the 
month, checking them against your records 
will show up any omissions or errors — the 
ban\ stands behind you. 



16 THE ART OF SPENDING 

Using the new check-book is really but 
little more trouble than keeping an ordinary 
check-book correctly, and will give you full 
cost accounting, mastery of family finances, 
more savings, and more nearly what you 
desire from your income. Best of all, you 
can keep the records from month to month and 
year to year almost automatically. 

Advantages of A Checking 
Account 

A CHECKING account is by far the easiest 
-^^ and safest method of paying household 
bills and expenses. Each check comes back to 
you from the bank and is a legal receipt. The 
less currency held in the house and in the purse, 
the less chances there are for loss through 
carelessness or stealing. Your money in the 
bank is working — dont have "slacker' dollars 
lying around. 

Some families do not use a checking account 
because of a feeling that they cannot afford to 
"tie up" a balance of $100, more or less, 
required by the bank to cover the cost of 
clearing checks, bookkeeping, etc. But the 
savings interest on this amount is but $3.00 a 
year, 25 cents a. month, and the saving of 
time and carfare amounts to much more than 
that, not to speak of the convenience, assure 
ance of safety, and other advantages. Few 
persons or families that have used bank checks 
would give up the privilege if there was a 
charge of $1 .00 or more per month. 

But remember that it costs the bank from 
1 cent to 2 cents for each check you write and 
that the bank's gross income on a $100 balance 
is only about 40 cents a month, so keep up 
your bank balance to a sum, in proportion to 
the number of checks you use, which will give 
the bank some return for the trouble and 
expense. 



HOW TO LIVE BETTER AND SAVE MORE 17 

Personal Accounting Check Book 

THE Personal Accounting Check Book is 
made up pocket style, one check to the 
page. The same main divisions of expendi- 
tures are used but the sub-divisions suggested 
are somewhat different, i. e. Food: 1 Board; 
2 Regular Lunches; 5 Extra Meals and Food. 
Clothing: ] Ready to Wear; 2 Goods and 
Making; 3 Shoes, Stockings, Gloves; 4 Under- 
clothing, etc.; 5 Cleaning and Repair. "Per- 
sonal" means personal allowance for mother, 
sister, or others. 



Office Accounting Check Book 

THE Office Accounting Check Book is 
designed for the professional or business 
man or woman whose accounts are usually 
lacking entirely or very fragmentary, unless a 
regular bookkeeper is employed. Its use will 
give a full classified record of receipts and 
expenditures without other accounts. It may 
be substituted for the cash book in any simple 
business with much saving of time. All 
receipts are deposited and all expenditures 
are made by check — a simple system and 
automatic; it cannot go wrong. 

The columns under "Expended For" are 
headed Expense, Wages, Supplies, Equipm.ent, 
two blank spaces, and Household. Suitable 
sub-divisions are suggested in the directions. 
It is recommended that the best plan for the 
professional man, agent and the like, with a 
family is to consider himself as working for 
"Self, Wife and Co." on a salary and to send 
the salary monthly to a separate checking 
account, held in the name of the house-manager 
for detailed accounting in a Household Account- 
ing Check Book. The idea is to keep the office 
and household expenses entirely separate. 

The Farm Accounting Check Book is a 
combination of the household and office 
accounting check books with headings under 
"Expended for Farm"; Rent and Wages, 



18 



THE ART OF SPENDING 



RP-rF-lPTS MONTH OF IS2 


I 


FROM 1 DAIRY 


POULTRY 


SHEEP 

1 . 


emm 


HAY 


V£&im8l£ 


miss'a'l total 



Expense, Supplies, Stock and Equipment, and 
under "Expended for Household"; Food, 
Clothing, Operating, Advancement. The re- 
ceipt side of the interleaves have headings; 
Dairy, Poultry, Stock, Grain, Hay, Vegetables 
and Fruit, Miscellaneous. 

The Income Tax Schedule 

n^HE use of any of the Self-Accounting 
-■- Check Books will bring business order out 
of what is usually chaos; they will reveal leaks 
and over-expense; they will show monthly 
costs and comparative records from month 
to month; they will give incentive to better 
spending and earning. 



WEEK OF- 



SPENT FOR 


Sunday 


Monday 


Tuesday 


Wednesday 


SAVrNGS 








j-^ 




GROCERIES 
FRUIT, VEG. 










« 


MEAT, FISH 










s 


MILK, CREAN 
BUTTER 












MEALS 
OUTSIDE 












READY MADE 










i 


GOODS AND 
MAKING 










s 


UNDERWEAR 
SHOES ETC. 










REPAIRS 
CLEANING 










Rent, Carfare 










S 


GAS, ELECT. 
TEL. WATER 












WAGES 
LAUNDRY 










= 


WAR TAXES 
PER. TAX 












"t^"n"/,: 












HEALTH 










< 


CHURCH 
RED CROSS 










K 


TOBACCO 
CANDY, ETC. 










3- 












PERSONAL 










TOTAL 











AMI. ON HAND - $ 
AMT. RECEIVED ■ $_ 

SUM -$ 



FigrS. Left hand page of the Weekly Allowance Book. 



HOW TO LIVE BETTER AND SAVE MORE 19 



Incidentally, as they give the details of every 
penny received and spent, all the records are 
at hand which your Uncle Sam expects you to 
keep for your income tax schedule. You can 
easily show and prove your "exemptions." 

The Weekly Allowance Book 

THIS miniature account book, "Where My 
Money .Goes," is shown /u// size in Figure 
5. It provides a simple means of keeping track 
of household or personal expenses when it is 
not advisable to use an Accounting Check 
Book and serve to keep a record of personal 
allowances or cash expenditures in connection 
with the Accounting Check Books; it is particu- 
larly useful in showing what becomes of the 
weekly pay. It is made small so that it can be 
carried in the pocket book for putting down 
amounts when you spend. 





t9 




Thursday 


Friday 


Saturday 


TOTAL 


ESTIMATE 












































































































































































































MONEY 


LEFT $ 






< 


5UM-$ 



Right hand page of the Weekly Allowance Book full size. 



20 THE ART OF SPENDING 

To quote from the Directions: "When you 
have used the book for two or three weeks, you 
can tell how much is necessary for you to 
spend in each division. Put such figures down 
in the column headed "Estimate" and keep 
within these estimates. You will then be spend- 
ing "according to plan" or Budget. 

"For large expenses which you pay monthly, 
like rent, or yearly or every six months, like 
interest, life insurance, taxes, etc.,' and other 
special expense like clothing, Christmas, vaca- 
tion — lay aside the proportionate amount 
required Weekly, Deposit this in the bank, 
where it is safe, in a Reserve Savings Account, 
separate from your weekly savings "Club." 
You will then have on hand in your "Reserve" 
the money to pay your big expenses promptly 
and to buy to advantage for cash. Using this 
book faithfully will enable you to get more for 
your money and save regularly.'' 

The divisions of expenditure are the same 
as used in the Household and Personal Account- 
ing Check Books. "Personal" means personal 
allowances given to children or others. The 
"Sum" of Amount on Hand and Amount 
Received should equal the "Sum" of Total 
Expended for the Week and Money Left. 
If this does not come out right, charge the 
difference to "luxuries" — it is a luxury to spend 
money that you cannot account for. 

The little book provides for record of 13 
weeks or one-fourth a year and there is a table 
in the back for the "Summary" of the 13 weeks. 
Even the children can and will use one of these 
little books — if you insist. 



HOW TO LIVE BETTER'AND SAVE MORE 



,21 



DRAWING UP THE BUDGET 

AFTER keeping records for a month or two 
in the Accounting Check Book or other- 
wise, you will be ready to draw up the family 
budget for the year. The following table, 
which you will find larger sized on the last 
page of the Household Accounting Check Book, 
is based on the scheme devised by Miss Donham 
of dividing the family expenditures into "fixed 
charges," "necessities," which can be estimated, 
and further expenses which it is "necessary to 
limit" as follows: 



FAMILY BUDGET 
JAN. 1ST. 192 TO JAN. 13T, 192_ 



TOTAL INCOME 
FIXED CHARGES 

SAVINCS 

Life Insurance __ 
Interest or Rent _ 

Church Dues 

Club Does 

Income Tax_, , 



NECESSITIES, ESTIMATED 
Food t. groceries. 

2. MEAT ETC. . 
9. FRUIT. VEG.. 
4. MILK ETC... 



Clothinq 



«. MANS 

2. WIFE'S 

9. CHILDREN'S. 



SHnm 2. BUS CARFARE 

9. FUEL FOR HEAT 



1. FUEL ETC. . 

2. WAGES ETC. 
9. REPAIRS _ . 
4. .TAXES 

Total . 



NECESSARY TO LIMIT 

Outside Meals — , 

HOUSE Repairs 

Yard Expense 

Equipment 

Education 

Or. Dentist etc 

Amusements 

Vacation Expenses 

Auto Expenses 

Man-s Pergonal 

WIFE'S Personal 

CHILDREN'S Personal 



Emergency Balance 



22 THE ART OF SPENDING 

The total income for the year is put at the 
top of the column, then the fixed charges are 
added together and subtracted from the total, 
leaving a balance. Next the necessities are 
estimated, added together and subtracted from 
the first balance to give a new balance. Finally 
it is decided how much may be spent in the 
items "necessary to limit." These are added 
together and subtracted from the second bal- 
ance, leaving an "emergency balance." 

Regrouping these figures according to the 
"key" and dividing by twelve will give you the 
Average Monthly Budget. Now the actual 
expenditures from month to month will not be 
the average; in some months extra amounts will 
need to be spent for clothing, as in fall and 
spring; more will be needed for luxuries at 
Christmas time; provision may need to be 
made for vacation expense; life insurance dues 
may have to be paid once or twice a year and 
interest on money borrowed; income taxes 
and other taxes due in certain months. Memo- 
randa for all these matters should be kept and 
it is a good plan to draw up a budget estimate 
for each month which may be put down in the 
Yearly Summary table as provided in the back 
of the check-book. 

The Family Purchasing Agent 

FOLLOWING the simple system outlined 
will give you the basis of success in "The 
Art of Spending," but the actual achievement 
in the art depends, of course, on the wisdom 
of the day to day purchasing as well as in the 
larger expenditures. "There is far more money 
earned in the majority of families than is wisely 
spent .... It is natural to feel that 
economy is being practiced when many a 
coveted article is resisted."* It is easy enough 
to let two dollars do the work of one, but it- 
takes real ability to make every dollar give 
full service. It's a full sized job and an interest- 
ing one. You remember the old saying, "A 
penny saved is a penny earned" — it works both 

*From Household Management, by Bertha M. Terrill. 



HOW TO LIVE BETTER AND SAVE MORE 23 

ways; to save a penny or a dollar you have to 
earn it either by work of head or hand. Let the 
head do its part. Better planning and spend- 
ing — that is the way to get more for your 
money. 

The budget and the records are the means to 
this end — to live better and save more; they 
give you the incentive — they point the' way^- 
show the goal — give the measure of your 
success in "The Art of Spending.'* 

"Savings First" 

LIFE is not made for savings, but savings 
are made that life may be more abun- 
dant.'* You will notice that savings is made 
the first fixed charge in the budget. This is 
instinctive in any well considered yearly plan 
of spending, for we all realize that a family or 
individual not reserving a certain portion of 
the income for future needs, is headed towards 
disaster and is doomed to failure. With small 
income and continued high prices, saving may 
seem well-nigh impossible, but it is not— 
remember the Liberty Bonds subscribed for! 
Where there is a will there is a way. 

As has often been said — the first dollars out 
of the pay envelope are easiest to spend, they 
are also easiest to save and the only way to 
save regularly and surely is to save first — spend 
after. And the most convenient, surest, 
safest way to save is to deposit that portion of 
your income which you wish to put aside in the 
savings bank, weekly if your compensation is 
received weekly, monthly if your salary is 
received by the month. And to help you stick 
to your resolution, join the new Home Service 
Weekly or Monthly Savings Club and pledge a 
definite amount regularly to your account. 
"Save First" and "Save for Investment." 

The budget system with the "Membership 
Privileges" of the new Home Service Savings 
Clubs of this bank will help you to make your 
regular savings easily. 

To live better and save more — this is to achieve 
success in "The Art of Spending." 



24 THE ART OF SPENDING 



HELPFUL BOOKS 

The following books may be borrowed for ten days, one at a 
time by members of the "Home Service Savings Clubs" or of this 
bank. They will be sent by mail to your home. Please make re- 
quests by mail, give your Certificate number, and enclose required 
postage stamps for mailing. 

Household Engineering, by Mrs. Christine Frederick, 527 pp., 
1920. Price $2.00, local postage 6 cents. 

Specific directions for efficient housekeeping — how to save 
time, labor, and money in the home; chapters on Family Finance, 
Purchasing, Schedules, Food Planning, Labor-Saving Kitchen 
particularly good. 

Household Management, by Bertha M. Terrill, Professor of Home 
Economics, University of Vermont. 211 pp., 1919. Price 
$1.50, local postage 6 cents. 

Home-making as a Profession, Standards of Living, Division 
of Income, the Bank Account, etc. Very good chapter on Market- 
ing. 

Cost of Living, by Ellen H. Richards. 154 pp., third edition, 1915. 
Price $1,00, local postage 6 cents. 

A standard work; while budgets are not up-to-date, it is well 
worth reading. 

Save and Have, by the University Society. 142 pp., 1919. Price 
$1.25, local postage 5 cents. 

Practical suggestions as to the careful use of money and things, 
saving by accounts, on food, clothing, operating, children's savings, 
automobile accounts, etc. 

The Woman Who Spends, by Bertha June Richardson. 161 pp., 
revised edition, 1910. Price $1.25, local postage 6 cents. 

A study of the economic status of woman; pleasing, well written 
philosophy. 

The Household Budget, by John P. Leeds, Ph. D. 246 pp., 1917. 
Price $1.25, local postage 6 cents. 

A study of the housewife as a producer; answers to a questionaire. 

Low Cost Cooking, by Florence Nesbit. 1 27 pp., 1 9 1 7. Price $ 1 .00, 
local postage 5 cents. 

A manual of cooking and home management for homes that must 
be conducted with the lowest possible expenditure of money. 

Lessons in Cooking Thru Preparation of Meals, by Robinson and 
Hammel. 467 pp., 1919. Price $2.00, local postage 6 cents. 

A menu cook-book giving directions for preparing each meal. 
Practical special articles on housekeeping and food economy. 

Ten-Cent Meals, by Florence Nesbit. 42 pp., revised 1920. Price 
10 cents, postage 1 cent. 

Food Values; Practical Methods in Diet Calculations. 32 pp. 
Price lO^cents. Tables of 100 Food Unit portions, new food 
values. 

N.B. — Many other books and booklets may be 
borrowed by Club Members. — See Reading Course 
Outlines on The Art of Spending. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




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